Tracheo‐oesophageal fistula following a fall

Tracheoesophageal fistula in a child after blunt chest trauma

“…Since the first report of TTEF by Vinson in 1936, 61 cases were reported in 1995 by Reed et al [1]. Another 8 more cases have been reported since then [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. All the reported patients thus far have been older than 12 years.…”

Acute Tracheoesophageal Burst Injury After Blunt Chest Trauma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Ono's sign (coughing and choking immediately after swallowing) is usually associated with chronic TEF, but can also occur with tracheoesophageal tears if the patient is conscious, particularly if allowed oral intake. 2,8,9 Hemoptysis with marked gastric distension, especially in the context of a relatively normal chest radiograph, is another key finding, and massive postintubation gastric distension, possibly associated with sudden aspiration or even bubbling from a NG tube, is a giveaway. The use of an NG tube connected to an underwater seal or a collection bag ("breathing bag sign") has been proposed as a simple way to confirm an esophageal air leak in the ventilated patient.…”

Benign esophagorespiratory fistula: a case series and a novel technique of definitive management

“…Spontaneous healing of the fistula is known, 5 as seen in two of our patients with infective etiology. Minimally invasive techniques with application of fibrin glue 6 or sodium hydroxide, and acetic acid have been described for patients unfit for any surgical intervention 7 . Eleftheriadis and Kotzampassi 8 reported a series of 12 patients with benign TEF over a 10‐year period treated with the Wilson–Cook esophageal balloon plastic stent (William Cook Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark) in the first four cases and the Ultraflex‐covered self‐expandable stent (Microvasive, Boston Scientific, Natick, MA, USA) in the remaining eight cases.…”